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Obama: More Wright; veep preview?

NBC's Andrea Mitchell reported on TODAY, "And now -- even more controversy involving Reverend Wright. An Internet search reveals church bulletins over the past year with controversial 'pastor pages' from Wright. Some reprint anti-Israel writings from a range of people -- from Archbishop Desmond Tutu to an advisor to Elijah Muhammed and Louis Farrakhan of the Nation of Islam to Hamas leader Mousa Abu Marzook.

"One of Marzook's columns, reprinted by the church from the Los Angeles Times, says: "Why should any Palestinian recognize the monstrous crimes carried out by Israel's founders and continued by its deformed modern Apartheid state?"

"Obama told the Jerusalem Post the church was 'outrageously wrong' to reprint the article, and he denounced Hamas.

"And Trumpet, a magazine run by Reverend Wright's daughters, quotes the pastor as saying: 'White supremacy is clearly in charge' in America. And slurring Italians' quote: 'garlic noses.' He also calls Jesus' crucifixion 'a public lynching Italian style.'"

"Still, Wright was praised Wednesday by the minister of the church the Clintons attended during their white house years.

"Well, I've heard Reverend Wright speak a number of times throughout the years," said the Rev. Dean Snyder, "and have the greatest respect for him as a leader."

Is this a Dem ticket preview? NYC Mayor Michael Bloomberg is introducing Obama today for his speech on the economy.

After his speech on the economy, Obama holds a fundraiser at Credit Suisse, one of the top subprime lenders, something the Clinton campaign believes is an example of Obama saying one thing but doing another.

The candidate gets a nice shout-out from a NYT editorial. "Obama has endorsed the best idea currently on the table to prevent foreclosure: amending the law so that troubled borrowers can have their mortgages modified in bankruptcy court."

And Obama's speech, which criticized McCain, got some pickup as well. "Obama mocked John McCain on Wednesday for urging government restraint in responding to the mortgage crisis, saying the Republican would 'just sit back and watch' as millions of Americans lost their homes. The back-and-forth between two of the leading White House contenders underscored the emergence of the nation's home-loan fiasco as a top issue in the presidential race."

While in N.C. to deliver his housing speech, Obama also took questions. "At Obama's town hall in North Carolina, which will hold its primary May 6, economic questions dominated -- about the cost of college tuition and the availability of health care coverage. He also fielded a question about what role religion played in his life. In response, the Illinois senator spoke at length about his faith and then raised an issue the questioner hadn't: controversial comments by his former pastor, the Rev. Jeremiah Wright, about racism in America.

Wright's comments have been targeted because they "spoke to some of the racial divisions we have in this country," Obama said, saying the furor was a 'distraction' from larger issues on Iraq and the economy."

The Raleigh News & Observer lead on Obama's visit: "Obama said Wednesday that his chief rival, Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton was too closely tied to the Washington status quo to bring about change. 'She takes more money from lobbyists and special interests than any candidate, including John McCain,' Obama told about 2,400 people at a town hall meeting in War Memorial Auditorium. 'That shows she doesn't have the sense that things need to change in Washington.'

"During a 90-minute speech and question-and-answer session, Obama criticized McCain's stance on the housing crisis, talked about his Christian faith and sought to downplay the provocative comments of his former pastor."